On Monday, Jan. 30, the sizzle and spice of tacos filled The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma’s Red Shield Kitchen. More than 100 pounds of ground venison filled pans as large as a small cooler as Celebrity Chef Scott Leysath of the Sportsman Channel shows “Hunt Fish Cook” and “Dead Meat” prepared to serve 250 needy and homeless visitors something they’d rarely eat.

Special guest Scott Leysath of HuntFishCook prepared and served venison tacos. Hunt.Fish.Feed., created by Sportsman Channel, is a unique outreach program that taps an underutilized food source—game meat and fish donated by sportsmen—to feed those struggling with hunger across America. Oklahoma City’s event had 1,000 pounds of venison donated by local sportsman through the Mule Deer Foundation.

“We are blessed and grateful to both the Sportsman Channel and Cox Communications for their outreach to citizens here inCentral Oklahomawho struggle daily with hunger,” said Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Commander Major Dan Proctor.

“Any donations of meat – especially those from our local game hunters – go a long way to helping us in our mission of ‘Doing the Most Good’ to those in the most need. We feed on average 80 to 300 people a day.”

Local taxidermist Terry’s Taxidermy donated the meat to us, and we wanted to share that processing of donated deer meat is only $20. All game meat that is processed through a USDA-licensed processor can be donated as an alternative meat source to local shelters.

So we had a party. A huge party. More than 200 visitors ate venison tacos to the sounds of The Salvation Army band. Cox volunteers served up the food, and Scott Leysath himself made those tacos some of the best we’ve ever tasted.

With that in mind, we thought we’d share the recipe with you guys! Enjoy:

VENISON TACOS

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup onions, finely diced

1/2 cup bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound ground venison

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomato, with juice

3 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced

8 warm flour or corn tortillas

1 cup shredded jack or cheddar cheese

1 cup tomato salsa

2 cups shredded lettuce or cabbage

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic until onions are translucent. Add venison and cook until evenly browned.